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Raleigh is the capital of the State of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County, USA. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. The city has a population of approximately 367,995 (2007 estimate), making it the second most populous in North Carolina, after Charlotte.[1]According to City of Raleigh Planning Department's Growth Management Division, Raleigh is the 50th-largest city in the United States.[2]

The city's location was chosen, in part, for being within fifteen miles (16 km) of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which was known to be popular with the state legislators of the time. No known city or town had existed on the site before it was chosen as the capital. Raleigh is among the few cities in the United States that was planned and built specifically to serve as a state capital. Its original boundaries were formed by North, East, West and South streets. An early map of the city (courtesy of the United States Library of Congress) is available here: [1]

Despite being spared significant destruction during the Civil War, Raleigh grew very little from its original 1792 size until the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1920s, the establishment of the Research Triangle Park in the 1950s, and completion of the Interstate 40 and Beltline (I-440/US-1/US-64) freeways after the 1960s.

Law and government

Raleigh has operated under a council-manager government since 1947. The city council consists of eight members; all seats, including the mayor's, are open for election every two years. Five of the council seats are district representatives and two seats are citywide representatives elected at-large. Historically, Raleigh voters have tended to elect conservative Democrats in local, state, and national elections.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Raleigh occupies a total area of 115.6 square miles (299.3 km²), of which 114.6 square miles (296.8 km²) is dry land and 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²)(0.84%) is covered by water.

Raleigh is located in the northeast central region of North Carolina, where the North American Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "fall line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. As a result, most of Raleigh features gently rolling hills that slope eastward toward the state's flat coastal plain. Its central Piedmont location situates Raleigh about three hours west of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, by car and four hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains of the Appalachian range. The city is 145 miles (233 km) from Richmond, Virginia; 232 miles (373 km) from Raleigh, North Carolina; and 143 miles (230 km) from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Climate

Raleigh enjoys a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures in the spring, fall, and winter. Summers are typically hot with high humidity. Winter highs generally range in the low 50s°F (10 to 13°C) with lows in the low-to-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2°C), although an occasional 60°F (15°C) or warmer winter day is not uncommon. Spring and fall days usually reach the low-to-mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with lows at night in the lower 50s°F (10 to 14°C). Summer daytime highs often reach the upper 80s to low 90s°F (29 to 35°C). The rainiest months are July and August.
Raleigh receives an average of 4.6" of snow in winter. Freezing rain and sleet occur most winters, and occasionally the area experiences a major damaging ice storm.

East Raleigh is situated roughly from Capital Boulevard near the I-440 beltline to New Hope Road. Most of East Raleigh's development is along primary corridors such as U.S. Route 1 (Capital Boulevard), New Bern Avenue, Poole Road, Buffaloe Road, and New Hope Road. Neighborhoods in East Raleigh include Brentwood, New Hope, and Wilder's Grove. The area is bordered to the east by the suburban town of Knightdale.

North Raleigh is an expansive, diverse, and fast-growing area of the city that is home to a large number of established neighborhoods along with many newly built subdivisions. The area generally falls North of the I-440 beltline. It is primarily suburban with numerous large shopping areas such as the recently renovated North Hills Mall, the large Crabtree Valley Mall and regional Triangle Town Center. Primary neighborhoods and subdivisions in North Raleigh include Bedford, Bent Tree, Brookhaven, Crossgate, Falls River, North Hills, North Ridge, Stonebridge, Stone Creek, Stonehenge, Wakefield, Windsor Forest, and Wood Valley. The area is served by numerous primary transportation corridors including Glenwood Avenue (U.S. Route 70), Wake Forest Road, Millbrook Road, Lynn Road, Six Forks Road, Spring Forest Road, Creedmoor Road, Leesville Road, and Strickland Road, as well as the Interstate-540 Northern Wake Expressway.

South Raleigh is located along U.S. 401 South toward Fuquay-Varina and along US 70 into suburban Garner. This area is the least developed and least dense area of Raleigh (much of the area lies within the Swift Creek watershed district where development rules limit housing densities and construction), South Raleigh is home to the only remaining gristmill in Wake County, the historic Yates Mill. The area is bordered to the west by Cary, to the east by Garner, and to the southwest by Holly Springs. Neighborhoods in South Raleigh include Lake Wheeler, Penny Road, Riverbrooke, and Enchanted Oaks.

Demographics

As of July 2007, the Raleigh City Planning Department estimated Raleigh's population at 367,995, which would place Raleigh as the 50th largest city in the United States. The 2000 United States census‹The templateGR is being considered for deletion.› GR2, stated there were 276,093 people and 61,371 families residing in Raleigh. The population density was 2,409.2 people per square mile (930.2/km²). There were 120,699 housing units at an average density of 1,053.2/sq mi (406.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.31% White, 27.80% African American, 0.36% Native American, 3.38% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.24% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.99% of the population.

There were 112,608 households in the city in 2000, of which 26.5% included children below the age of 18, 39.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were classified as nonfamily. 33.1% of all households were individuals living alone, of which 6.2% were someone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size in Raleigh was 2.30 persons, and the average family size was 2.97 persons.

Age-wise, Raleigh's population in 2000 was evenly distributed with 20.9% below the age of 18, 15.9% aged 18 to 24, 36.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64. An estimated 8.3% persons were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 96.6 males aged 18 or older.

The median household income in the city was $46,612, and the median family income was $60,003. Males had a median income of $39,248 versus $30,656 for females. The median per-capita income for the city was $25,113. An estimated 11.5% of the population and 7.1% of families were living below the poverty line in 2000. Out of the total population, 13.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Air

Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Raleigh-Durham International Airport, located northwest of downtown Raleigh via Interstate-40 between Raleigh and Durham, serves the city and the greater Research Triangle metropolitan region. It is a focus city for American Airlines.

Designated routes and highways

I-440 Beltline, makes a loop around the central part of the city. Offcially, the southernmost section of the Beltline, upon which Interstate 40 travels, doesn't carry the Interstate 440 designation, though many road signs haven't been updated to reflect the truncation. Visitors and even some long-time residents are sometimes confused by the terms "Inner Beltline," "Outer Beltline," and "Outer Loop." The Inner Beltline and Outer Beltline both refer to I-440, with "inner" describing the route's clockwise lanes of travel and "outer" referring to its counter-clockwise travel lanes. (Inner/Outer labeling). Cardinal directions are posted on the route along with the Inner/Outer designations; however the cardinal directions will change as you drive along the curvature of the circular route. ("Outer Loop" refers to the I-540 arc that traverses North Raleigh to the north of the I-440 Beltline.)

I-540, also known as the Northern Wake Expressway, sometimes referred to as the "Outer Loop"

Public transit

Public transportation in and around Raleigh is provided by the CAT, Capital Area Transit (CAT), which operates 37 bus fixed routes and an historic trolley line within the city, and the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), which offers scheduled, fixed-route regional and commuter bus service between Raleigh and the metropolitan area's other principal cities of Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill (where TTA connects with the respective local urban transit systems), as well as to and from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Research Triangle Park and several of the region's larger suburban communities.

For more information on relocating to Raleigh, North Carolina please visit www.raleigh-nc.org

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